Top 100 Yotam Ottolenghi Quotes
#1. Chefs don't use white pepper just to avoid spoiling the whiteness of pommes puree or bechamel. It has a more peppery aroma, with sharpness and sweetness, too.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#2. Fusion food as a concept is kind of trying to quite consciously fuse things that are sometimes quite contradictory, sometimes quite far apart, to see if they'd work.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#3. The unlikely combination of potatoes and pasta does appear in some Italian recipes.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#4. I adore recipes that make use of one cut of meat or a whole animal to create a complex dish, loaded with flavour.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#5. The combination of lentils with rice or bulgur is the absolute height of Levantine comfort food. I could eat it every day.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#6. Custard is controversial: what makes it a custard, how best to cook it and, crucially, is it to be eaten or put in a pie and thrown?
Yotam Ottolenghi
#7. Leeks, like other oniony things, reach a certain peak when fried. It's the subtle sweetness that suddenly becomes evident and works so well with their creamy texture.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#8. I get great pleasure from stuffed foods, from an apple strudel to a vegetable samosa, from a whole roasted bird with a sweet and savoury stuffing to a vine leaf filled with rice and spices.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#9. As for pineapple, it's far more versatile than you might think, and certainly merits wider use than in Hawaiian pizzas and pina coladas and on cheesy cocktail sticks.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#10. Tiny quails may not seem as impressive as a mammoth turkey, but there is something refreshing about a spread of individual birds on the Christmas table.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#11. I'm a firm believer that the world should be your oyster when you're cooking. People should open themselves to other cuisines - there are a lot of hidden secrets all over the world.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#12. The kitchen is tough. It's one of the last bastions in civilized culture that sets out to crush the spirit.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#14. Swiss chard is undervalued in Britain. It's a great substitute for spinach and keeps its shape well.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#15. As with lemon juice, the more sorrel you use, the more it has to be balanced with something sweet, starchy or creamy - it's a yin-yang approach to cooking that I find rather calming.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#16. There is nothing like a good old recipe. If it has lasted, then it is good.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#17. Every era has its own list of ingredients that are considered exotic and then, 15 years later, they're not.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#18. I now understand how varied the world of cultivated rice is; that rice can play the lead or be a sidekick; that brown rice is as valuable as white; and that short-grain rice is the bee's knees.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#19. Breakfast is always the best time for something juicy, sweet and fresh - it just feels like the right way to open the day. There's no right way, though, when it comes to choosing the fruit.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#20. Scamorza, an Italian curd cheese often labelled 'smoked mozzarella,' melts fantastically well.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#21. The tang of tamarind is a great way both to flavour and lighten up slow-cooked savoury dishes.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#23. Miso makes a soup loaded with flavour that saves you the hassle of making stock.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#24. For people who think of chicken as the meat choice of those-who-don't-really-like-meat, brining a bird will be a revelation.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#26. Braising eggs in a flavoursome, aromatic sauce is all the rage. It is warming and comforting, ideal for the morning when you are not normally up for a great culinary challenge.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#27. Hardly any of my most memorable meals have been eaten in a restaurant, and definitely none in one of those fancy marble-floored, polished-silver establishments.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#28. Some days, just occasionally, when I've had just one too many chickpeas, drizzles of olive oil or chunks of feta, I crave a return to the sushi-filled joints of Tokyo.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#29. In certain European cuisines, vegetables are cooked a long time. I take the term 'al dente' and use it for vegetables.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#30. I have a terrible tendency to lick my fingers when I cook. So much so that I got a telling off from my pastry teacher years ago, who said it would hinder my prospects.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#31. Most British cheeses are now vegetarian and are labelled accordingly. However, French and Italian manufacturers still tend to use rennet.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#32. I have an intense dislike of doctrines, because you will always end up eating your words.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#33. I used to love fine dining, but I lost my appetite for it to a degree because sometimes it is too much about the effort and too little about the result.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#34. Manouri is a Greek ewes' milk cheese that's light in colour and texture. It's fresh and milky, and goes well with other subtle flavours.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#35. Speaking as someone who didn't go through the U.K. school system, with all the culinary baggage that entails, I am inordinately fond of custard in any shape or form.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#36. Take your average couscous salad, and it's almost always a sloppy mush, no matter how much attention has gone into getting flavours in there.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#37. The way to entice people into cooking is to cook delicious things.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#38. On many occasions, an informal buffet and casual seating offer a little more intimacy than a loud gathering around a big table.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#39. Infants have around 30,000 tastebuds, only about a third of which survive into adulthood, so a child's sensitivity towards extremes of sweet, sour and bitter flavours is heightened.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#40. Like all rice, black rice is great at absorbing flavours, but it's just as happy to act as a satiny bed for a poached egg, say, if you want to keep things simple.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#41. Most pumpkin dishes involve scooping out the seeds, cutting off the skin, and chopping up the flesh before cooking.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#42. I do support people eating more vegetables. It's a good thing to do.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#44. Some heat, some spice and plenty of citrus are the building blocks of many North African fish dishes.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#45. Panko are the elite of the breadcrumb world because they stay so crunchy and light.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#46. Buckwheat, like Marmite and durian, is a seriously divisive foodstuff, so it needs a seriously capable defence team if it's ever going to make it on to most people's dinner tables.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#47. One Indian-inspired favourite of mine is mashed potato mixed with lemon juice, breadcrumbs, coriander and chilli, shaped into patties, fried and served with chutney and yoghurt.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#48. Believe it or not, I'm as much a fan of a supper shortcut as the next person.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#49. A great ratatouille is one in which the vegetables interact with each other but are still discernible from each other. The trick is to cook them just right: not over, not under.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#50. Even in the busiest kitchen, there's always a point at the end of the day when you go home.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#51. Polenta is one of those ingredients that in many homes spends its days at the back of the kitchen cupboard, on the 'no one knows quite what to do with it' shelf.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#52. You don't need a machine to make pasta: a rolling pin and a fast hand can create a smooth, if thick, sheet.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#53. You can be vegetarian and eat fish. It's your choice, just say: 'I am what I am.' There are no hardcore divisions anymore.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#54. Leeks are normally given the job of flavouring other things, such as stocks and soups, but I find their creaminess and sweet, oniony flavour very satisfying.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#55. Chinese sausage, which is widely available from Asian grocers and online, is sweet, rich, and enticingly smoky. I add it to steamed rice with strips of omelette and a few baby veg stir-fried with soy.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#56. Poaching white fish in moderately hot oil guarantees soft-textured flesh and allows you to prepare a sauce calmly, without the usual panic about overcooking the fish.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#57. Polenta is to northern Italy what bread is to Tuscany, what pasta is to Emilia-Romagna and what rice is to the Veneto: easy to make, hungry to absorb other flavours, and hugely versatile.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#58. Souffles don't deserve their reputation as potential disasters.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#59. I love my garlic press; in fact, it is probably my one true desert island gadget. But I'm happy to put it aside whenever the smell and sweet taste of slow-cooked garlic is called for.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#60. If I am honest, my food is actually quite far removed from both the food of my mother and my father.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#61. Yoghurt cuts sweetness and richness, tempers spice, and makes a dish sing.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#62. If I must choose between healthy and tasty, I go for the second: having only one life to waste, it might as well be a pleasurable one.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#63. When I was a kid, there was always food to be had on the street in Jerusalem, but anything above a falafel stand was mediocre or worse.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#64. Though not a true cereal but a fruit, buckwheat seeds resemble cereal grains and are often used in a similar way to rice, barley, bulgar or quinoa, usually as a side dish.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#65. Sweet potatoes are ideal for lazy days: just bake, then mash and mix with yogurt, butter or olive oil.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#66. If you can't taste an ingredient, you have to ask yourself why it is there.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#67. Some breakfast cereals only come into their own as children's party treats: what are cornflakes and Coco Pops for, if not to clump together with melted chocolate and spoon into a cupcake holder?
Yotam Ottolenghi
#68. Agave nectar is a good substitute for refined sugars. It has a relatively low glycaemic index, which means it doesn't cause quick rises in blood sugar levels. It also has a nice, mild flavour.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#69. Apart from its famous healing properties, manuka has a strong, woody flavour.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#70. Sea spaghetti looks like dark fettuccine and has a similar texture - you can get it in health food stores or online.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#71. Black glutinous rice works in both savoury and sweet dishes. It's a popular pudding rice in south-east Asia, where you'll often come across it cooked with water, coconut milk and a pandan leaf.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#72. Food was always important in my family, but I didn't think of it as a vocation until a later point in life.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#73. Dinner parties are still highly popular, and I believe they always will be.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#74. Turkish cuisine is, to my mind, one of the most exciting and accomplished in the world.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#75. The natural sweetness of leeks, with their soft, oniony aroma, makes them the perfect winter comfort food.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#76. Mothers and grandmothers: these are the people that I admire most, not so much chefs.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#77. There are many reasons I feel at home in the U.K., but if I were asked to pinpoint the moment I knew I'd arrived, it might well be when I realised the British shared my love of fritters.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#78. Blanching the cloves removes the harsh and bitter bite of raw garlic.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#79. Recipes can be incredibly vague where chillies are concerned.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#80. I have been cooking with preserved lemon for years, using it left, right and centre, but I am still far from reaching my limit.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#81. The main distinction for fresh chillies is whether they are red or green, the difference being one of ripeness.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#82. Chana dal are skinless dried split chickpeas used in Indian cooking. They have a great texture and delicate flavour.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#83. Jerusalem artichokes have a great affinity with nuts. I love them with chopped walnuts or almonds, lemon juice, garlic, herbs and plenty of olive oil.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#84. There is a unique freshness when eating buckwheat noodles cold with plenty of herbs and citrus acidity. I can't think of any better use of chopsticks on a hot and sweaty evening.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#85. Just-poached vegetables show off their natural attributes and taste fresh and light in a way you never get with roasting or frying.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#86. Verjuice may not be the easiest thing in the world to find, but you should be able to track some down in good delis and online.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#88. Tahini is fantastically versatile, its deep, nutty flavour a harmonious match with roasted vegetables, grilled oily fish or barbecued meat.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#89. There used to be a time - it isn't so much the case now - that vegetarianism was some kind of religion, and either you belong or you don't belong.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#90. I rarely cook traditional risotto, but I love other grains cooked similarly - barley, spelt or split wheat. I find they have more character than rice and absorb other flavours more wholeheartedly.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#91. Having grown up in the Middle East, eating beans for breakfast always seemed like a bizarre British eccentricity.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#92. Barberries, or zereshk, are tiny dried red fruit with a tremendously sharp flavour. They come from Iran, where they're used to add freshness to rice and chicken dishes.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#93. I used to have a very unmediated experience of food but, because of the recipe testing, I've lost that now. I can't switch it off even when I'm on holiday.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#94. Forget mung beans' reputation as healthy yet bland - used right, they soak up loads of flavour.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#95. When I cook a meal, I like to serve things one by one and keep them separate. I get that from my father - he's such a purist. Some people even put their desserts on the main plate. It's just wrong.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#96. My all-time favourite classic use of ricotta is in gnudi: fluffy, cheesy dumplings of almost ethereal, feathery lightness.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#97. The addition of vinaigrette to freshly roasted vegetables gives them a freshness and juiciness they don't normally have; the acidity brings out new shades of flavour, too.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#98. Most men say they can cook pasta, but I think you should find a little bit of an unusual angle on your pasta and make that your signature dish.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#99. It's hard to beat the rough texture of steel-cut oats, with their slight resistance against the teeth.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#100. It's well worth making your own harissa, but there are some very good commercial varieties.
Yotam Ottolenghi
Famous Authors
Popular Topics
Scroll to Top
